A June 2nd that will not be a celebration, but a fight. In Sardinia, in Cagliari, the Republic Day turns into a protest against the militarization of the Island , the war maneuvers in the Mediterranean and the new security bill that – according to the protesters – tries to silence any form of dissent.
The A Foras collective, for years on the front line against the military presence in Sardinia, calls the population to Piazza Costituzione at 4 pm for a mobilization that wants to be participated.
«While the State celebrates the Republic, it sinks it under the weight of rearmament», denounce the activists, pointing the finger at the increase in military spending and the disturbing escalation of large-scale exercises that, every year, are concentrated in Sardinia .
Also targeted by the procession was DDL 1660 , the controversial bill promoted by the government to regulate demonstrations , considered by the protest promoters to be "a direct attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to criminalise peaceful dissent".
There will be no shortage of international references: at the centre of the procession will also be solidarity with Gaza and all the Palestinian people and a harsh condemnation of the Israeli government, accused of carrying out military operations with the support, including financial, of Italy.
"We have already paid with our land and with our lives," they declare from A Foras, "and we will not stand by and watch while they prepare another war that we will all pay for, in money and blood."
The day will end with a moment of socializing and debate, again in Piazza Costituzione. The organizers invite all citizens to participate and to "stay until the evening, because the fight is also community."